Born on July 26th 1951 in Minden/Westfalen, widowed
Professional Career:
- 1970 German university entrance qualification ("Abitur")
- 1970-1975 Legal studies at the Universities of Göttingen and Bielefeld
- 1975 First State Exam in Hamm, 1978 Second State Exam in Düsseldorf
- 1979-1990 German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA)
- Since December 2nd, 1990 Member of the German Federal Parliament (Deutscher Bundestag)
- May 18th 1992 Inauguration as Federal Minister of Justice
- November 17th 1994 Re-inauguration as Federal Minister of Justice
- January 17th, 1996 Resignation as Federal Minister of Justice after a ballot among the members of the FDP (Free Democratic Party) on the law on electronic eavesdropping for the purpose of criminal prosecution
- Since July 1996 Attorney-at-law in Munich
- Since Oktober 28th, 2009 Federal Minister of Justice
Free Democratic Party (FDP):
- Since 1978 Member of the FDP
- 1982 - 2001 Chairwoman of the FDP district chapter in Starnberg (Bavaria)
- Since 1987 Member of the FDP Federal Expert Committee for home policy and legal policy
- January 1996 - March 2001 Chairwoman of the FDP Bavarian Expert Committee for home policy and legal policy
- Since 1991 Member of the FDP Federal Executive Committee ("Bundesvorstand")
- Since May 1997 Member of the Supervisory Board of the FDP ("Präsidium")
- Since December 2nd, 2000 FDP Chairwoman for the Federal State of Bavaria
- Deputy Chairwoman of the FDP parliamentary group
- Federal German Parliament Spokeswoman on legal policy for the FDP parliamentary group
- Chairwoman of the FDP at the parliamentary committee on legal affairs
- Deputy Member at the parliamentary committee for human rights and humanitarian assistance
- Member of the German delegation at the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe
Hobbies:
- literature, skiing, swimming, organic gardening, animal welfare, dog "Franzi"
Honorary offices:
- Member of the Executive Committee ("Vorstand") of the Theodor Heuss Stiftung
- Patron ("Schirmherrin") and member of Dunkelziffer e.V. - Hilfe für sexuell missbrauchte Kinder
- Member of the German Child Protection Agency (Deutscher Kinderschutzbund e.V.)
